Here are three photos of the interior of Dale Earnhardts car after the accident. These photos show, not only a very bloody interior (the blood left on the seat clearly shows that Dale had a massive hemmorage after the crash, and still hasn't even dried!) but also clearly shows the dumped "broken" seat restraint. These photos were taken the next day by the county medical examiner.

If you post these images, caution your visitors to the graphic nature of them.

Stock car racing and the South go together like fried chicken and Pepsi. So
when the greatest driver the sport's ever known was killed in a spectacular
crash, the entire Southern portion of the United States acted as if Elvis had
died. Well he did. But instead of keeling over alone on his throne, Dale
Earnhardt bought it with a TV camera mounted over his shoulder and millions
watching him wipe out and die in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Sports stars get killed in their prime all the time. Just lately it's been Bobby
Phills of the Charlotte Hornets, U.S. Open champ Payne Stewart and the Kansas
City Chiefs' Derrick Thomas. But the 7-time Winston Cup Champion did it live on
FOX TV.

The heroic comparisons started before his body was even cold. Pick your
metaphor, sportscasters threw around that the 49 year-old Earnhardt's death was
like Michael Jordan dying in a Bulls playoff game or Mark McGwire biting it
while still in his home run chase. The Southern media held him up to be Babe
Ruth in a Monte Carlo.

The Feb. 18 crash of "The Intimidator" looked almost routine by NASCAR
standards, especially considering what had happened just minutes earlier. After
nearly three wild hours of side-by-side racing, a 19-car crash sent Tony
Stewart's car hurtling skyward, flames shooting out of the engine. Bobby
Labonte's car was on fire, too, and minutes later, the garages looked like a
junkyard.

That pushed the finale deeper into the afternoon, turning the 500 into a 26-lap
sprint for the checkered flag.
As the drivers passed under the white flag that signifies the beginning of the
final lap, Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had begun to separate
themselves from a pack that included Earnhardt, Kenny Schrader, Sterling Marlin
and a hard-charging Rusty Wallace.

Most fans at the track must have thought Earnhardt was getting ready for one
final run, a chance to slingshot past the two leaders and win his second Daytona
500. Here is a photograph of Dale and his
wife Teresa, just before his fatal run. Then again, maybe not.
Observers could see Earnhardt was blocking the other cars from getting near the
other two cars on his team, part of his sponsorship dollars ahead of him.

Half a lap passed, then two-thirds, and the famous black Chevrolet hadn't made
its move. Racing for third place? What was the strategy? Still, it kind of made
sense. Ahead of Earnhardt were his two employees -- Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip,
the hard-luck driver who'd never won a Daytona 500 in 15 years of trying.

As Earnhardt appeared to try to block the drivers behind him, his car drifted
ever so slightly toward the bottom of the track, where Marlin was holding his
line as they entered Turn 3.

Earnhardt's Monte Carlo skidded quickly downward onto the apron of the track,
fishtailing. As the cars rounded the bend, the nose of his Chevy tilted toward
the outside wall and Schrader plowed into its passenger side. Earnhardt slammed
headfirst into the wall at Turn 4 at about 180 mph. He probably died instantly.

As No. 3 slid down toward the infield and came to rest, Waltrip and Earnhardt
Jr. zoomed toward the checkered flag. Television cameras left the wreck behind
to pan toward the finish.

Minutes later, Waltrip stood on a tower high above the track for more
interviews. This was one of the few places that offered a view of the entire
scene. Before Waltrip took the first question, he knew he was no longer the
story.

"My heart is hurting right now," he said. "I would rather be any
place right this moment than here. It's so painful."

As Dale Beaver, the Winston Cup chaplain, headed to Victory Lane to offer a
celebratory handshake to Waltrip, frantic word came that he was needed in the
infield care center. Beaver went directly to Halifax Hospital to join Earnhardt
and his family. He was present when doctors pronounced Earnhardt dead, consoling
his wife, Teresa, and son, Dale Jr.

A few fans and the press waited outside the hospital's trauma unit. Some
bystanders saw a maroon hearse back into an emergency room entrance. Hospital
staff held up sheets in front of the hearse's windows to block the public's
view. About five minutes later the hearse left, led by two cops on motorcycles.
The car was covered by a tarp, and
taken to a garage. (thank you
to Gerald for that photo)

The night of the crash, Dr. Steve Bohannon, director of emergency medical
services at Daytona International Speedway, said there were no visible signs of
trauma to Earnhardt's face after the crash and that he felt the fact that
Earnhardt wore an open-faced helmet did not contribute to his injuries. Five
days later, however, he changed his theory, saying that a closed-face helmet of
the type worn by almost every other Winston Cup driver might have made a
difference.

"If he had protection over his chin in this area of contact, the forces
would have been different to his body and he would have a different pattern of
injuries," Bohannon said. "Certainly in this particular case a
full-faced helmet would have been of benefit."

It was discovered that a seat belt had broken. Bohannon said that had the belt
not broken, Earnhardt might not have been killed in the crash. Here is a
view from the driver seat.
(thank you to Gerald for that photo)

"It appears this did allow his body to move forward and it appears that
probably his chin struck the steering column in such a way that the forces were
transmitted up the mandible on each side to fracture the base of his skull. The
chest hitting would account for the rib fractures."

There were two Earnhardt services. The first was a private family funeral on
Feb. 21 in Kannapolis, N.C., about 27 miles from Charlotte. Earnhardt reportedly
was buried following a service attended only by his family and closest friends.
Nobody will say where, or even if, the auto racing legend was laid to rest in
Kannapolis.

In the Kannapolis Independent Tribune, an article quoting an unnamed Earnhardt
family member, added to the mystery. "I can't make a statement on behalf of
the family," the person said, "but we did not attend a burial service
for Dale Earnhardt in Kannapolis on Wednesday."

Earnhardt was publicly eulogized Feb. 22 in a strangely muted affair at Charlotte's
Calvary Church. There were flowers and there was music and there was a large
crowd, but there didn't seem to be enough flowers and there wasn't enough music
and there certainly weren't enough people. There was almost nothing in Calvary
Church connecting the service to a seven-time Winston Cup champion. No pictures,
memorabilia or references to his storied career save for a red,
white and black floral arrangement in the shape of "3" near the
pulpit.

The massive church, which can hold as
many as 5,800 people, was host to approximately 4,000 on Feb. 22, and that
not-so-full house witnessed a ceremony that was almost jarringly brief and
surprisingly bereft of depth or color. The service was broadcast live on FOX
Sports as 45 TV satellite trucks beamed reports across the country.

UPDATE MARCH 2001

Findadeath.com friend Julie
sends this: For the record the picture does not do justice to the size and
beauty of this church. It
is HUGE. As you can see it was taken from across a roadway so that I
could get it all in the picture. The back and the sides are just as big as this
front shot looks. It really is a beautiful sight.

Earnhardt's children sat in the front row. Taylor Nicole, the youngest at 12,
entered with Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, accompanied by a state trooper, and sat
with sons Dale Jr., 26, and Kerry, 31, and daughter Kelley, 28. This being the
South, you had to have country music stars there, and they got Randy Owens, Kix
Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. Representing NASCAR were drivers Terry and Bobby Labonte,
Jerry Nadeau, Bobby and Donnie Allison, and Sterling Marlin, who had received
hate mail and death threats from fans who blamed him for the fatal crash.

After an introduction by John Cozart, pastor of the family's church in
Mooresville, race chaplain Beaver gave the eulogy. It was sandwiched by two
songs from Owens, a singer in the group Alabama.

About 20 minutes into the service, Earnhardt's widow made her way to the podium,
apparently to say something to the crowd. Instead, clutching her hands to her
chest, it was all she could do to whisper two barely audible "thank yous"
before exiting the church on the arm of her state trooper. And like that, it was
all over in 22 minutes.

In the days following the memorial service, there were press conferences that
NASCAR held to detail the investigation. The broken seat belt story was trotted
out. Dale Jr. said he'd continue to race and doesn't blame anyone for his
father's crash. A special Earnhardt sticker was unveiled that was to be slapped
on all stock cars. The Feb. 25 race at Rockingham wasn't postponed, and Dale Jr.
was in the starting lineup. There's a saying in the stock car racing world:
"Keep the shiny side up, dirty side down." Uh-huh.

Kevin Fitzpatrick is a New York City writer. You can visit his web site, www.nycbp.com

Thank you Kevin.

News from Findadeath.com friend SDS:
If I heard correctly, FOXSPORTS NET (who broadcasted the Dale Earnhardt memorial service from Charlotte last week) sold/gave the
broadcast rights to the service to Theresa Earnhardt. She allowed broadcast of the service
nationwide under the following stipulations . . . . 1) no close-ups of the family were allowed 2) FOX, nor any
other of the local TV stations locally in town (as well I'm sure nationwide) weren't allowed to use footage
from the service in their reports (though afterwards, they as well as NASCAR fans from throughout the
country who were waiting outside were allowed to enter the church and take pictures) and 3) there will
never be a rerun of the service on the air since she assumed those rights. Though I'm sure some Net savvy
guy will try to set up an Earnhardt website and broadcast it on the Net at some point . . . . .

The Smoking Gun.com has contacted me, and told
me that they have Dale's autopsy report online. You can see it here

NEW INFORMATION AUGUST 2001:

Kevin Fitzpatrick tells me that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is cashing in
on his old man's death. he's given LONG interviews about it to MTV, Rolling Stone, Playboy (all the classy places).

Also, In June 2001, Attorneys seeking access to the autopsy photos attacked a new Florida law that seals such pictures, telling a judge that it is vague and unconstitutional. The law makes it a felony to release autopsy photos without a judge's permission. Previously, such photos had been a public record.

"The photographs are humiliating, disgusting and negative," Teresa Earnhardt said. "That could be nothing but harmful and painful to anyone involved with my family, my company, our fans, anyone."

The Independent Florida Alligator, the newspaper that serves the University of Florida community in Gainesville, and Websitecity.com were seeking access to the photos, arguing that a public review could prevent future racing fatalities.

Circuit Judge Joseph Will said releasing the photos would cause harm to Earnhardt's family. Will rejected the arguments calling them "incredibly thin excuses" for invading the families privacy.

"The [newspaper's and Web site's] argument was a constitutional shell game," said Parker Thompson, an Earnhardt lawyer.

The Alligator argued the images should be made public to show whether investigators did an adequate job of determining what killed Earnhardt.

Websitecity.com owner Michael Uribe said he wants to view the photos to prove the Volusia County medical examiner's office did a poor job on Earnhardt's autopsy. Uribe already has posted autopsy photos of drivers Rodney Orr and Neil Bonnett on his Web site.

Relatives of the dead drivers testified they were devastated by the posting of the photos on the Web site. "I can't sleep at night," said Orr's father. "I lay down and I see him on the table there naked. That's what I see."

Findadeath.com friend April Joyce sends
this: The Accident Report is IN! Did you know that he was also a
chicken farmer, and raised chickens for Purdue Farms? See
it here.

Added November 2003Just wanna drop you a line to correct you in your saying that Dale Earnhardt
Jr is "cashing in on his old man's death" by giving interviews to
Rolling Stone and MTV. He doesn't get to choose what the interviewers ask him,
and most of them do ask them about his father's death. It's a big part of his
life, and he is living in his father's shadow, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is definitely
not "cashing in." So I would appreciate it if you re-write that
statement. Thank You.